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Showing posts from October, 2019

Capitalism, labor, and mental health.

Work has a profound impact on one's life, it is what people do for most of their lives, some form of it at least. I work a part time job and a temporary job, the latter has a career path with promises of a permanent position, though it is with the U.S. Government, and not one of many private businesses that seem to run it haha. The problem is that people still think working 40 hours is enough, some people work overtime, or not enough time, and therefore won’t get employee benefits. Mental health needs to be one of them, especially when most people feel alienated, this is one of the core analyses in Marxist theories, the alienation of labor. People feel estranged from their work because it is often not personally meaningfully, they are working under hierarchical institution whose goals often not align with the workers’ goals, since profit motives do not translate into prosperity for all, but mere meager wages. This goes neatly into surplus value. Workers, whomever they may be, it

Pronouns

Everyone's been talking about pronouns. We are talking about, I am writing about, and you are reading. October 16th is international pronoun day, which is today at time of publishing. My pronouns are, in no particular, order she/her, they/them, or it. Lets talk about them She/her is one of the the "conventional" third person pronouns, along with he/him (N.B. I do not use this; it is the forbidden pronoun here). This pronoun in reference to people, is usually known as the feminine pronouns, typically women use them, but you don't have to if you are and nor do you have to be a binary woman to use she/her. I'm nonbinary and use that.  Then there is they/them, the singular they. You probably have already used them without even knowing it.   It pronouns, however, are a reclamation for me. The “it” feels genderless and liberating despite its origins to misgender trans people. Pronouns are a part of language, they are not inherent to any g

Coming Day 2019: My story and reflection (PERSONAL)

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  Today is October 11th It is national coming out day. Coming Out Day is celebrated among the LGBTQIA+ community to reflect upon and honor the rite of coming out as our gender and/or sexuality to our friends, family, colleagues, and loved ones. I have many coming out moments since I am both transgender and bisexual. I'd like to explore some specific stories in a coming out themed video one day. When I was 16 years old, I had realized that I was bisexual after questioning my sexual orientation for some time. I knew I was some sort of nonbinary trans person at 20, but tried figuring it out specifically, and even wondered if I were actually trans, nonbinary, or even binary trans, trying on so many labels overtime. I am now 7 months on feminizing hormone replacement therapy, and have been changing my presentation for a year and many months, not quite two since it was a process of coming to terms. Coming out to yourself is the hardest part, frankly. My transition was my own, it

Microblogs: US Supreme Court to rule on Title VII discrimination for sexual orientation and gender identity.

Today is October 8th 2019 A lot of trans spaces are hot with talk about the supreme court hearing arguments from three cases, and these cases deal with two gay men and a transgender woman suing under Title VII sex discrimination. Lower courts in the US established some precedent of ruling that this 1964 law on sex discrimination covers sexual orientation and gender identity. While detractors say this was not the purpose, a supportive argument counters that sexual harassment was not the intention yet it is part of established precedent. Here it is in more detail In a broader sense, the cases reflect how transphobia and homophobia both come from the same place of sexism. My blog comes from the perspective of a transfeminine person, so transmisogyny is part of my experiences. How one is perceived and received can be a matter of life and death, especially for trans women of color. A lot of transphobia and especially transmisogyny is a sensational reaction based in misogyny. The la

What is Beauty, Socrates? A trans perspective on beauty standards and expression.

Oh wait he's dead. The scene is familiar, you do your face, put together your ensemble for the day, brush your hair, and look in the mirror and think that'll do. For me, it requires meticulous effort. Every day is something new, it seems like I am trying to be "pretty" or "beautiful" and it's useless because I have anxiety and dysphoria, therefore doubt myself. This is rather common among trans people, especially trans women and transfeminine nonbinary people, because of the societal expectations of beauty and also one's own self image and gender dysphoria. A lot of beauty standards are classist racist, ableist, transphobic, and fatphobic, and I know this as a leftist that critiques things about society. I mean, have you ever noticed that most models you see in magazines and runways are rich, white, able-bodied, cisgender, and thin? Yet, I find myself chasing these things. For what? To feel better? One part might be a desire to be normal and